American National Bank & Trust Cuts Stock Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

American National Bank & Trust lowered its stake in shares of A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 54.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,533 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in A. O. Smith were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AOS. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 204,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,947,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 777,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,016,000 after purchasing an additional 21,503 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 292,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Price Performance

AOS traded down $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.78. 2,349,430 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,244,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55. A. O. Smith Co. has a 12-month low of $58.83 and a 12-month high of $92.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.79. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.28.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $963.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $950.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.17.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.